You know, this is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I receive, and it can be one of the toughest ones as well. To be perfectly honest, there are several circumstances that can have a direct influence on the answer.
It is common knowledge that fish, and most wild game animals, prefer to move about and feed during times of less human activity, and that can be during darkness. Normal feeding times are usually early morning and late evening, but that does not mean you cannot catch fish during the daytime hours.
There is what is referred to as the "Solonar" timetable, and that can vary from day to day. Some individuals place a lot of emphasis on this prepared chart and try to schedule their activities during what the chart and moon phase suggest.
Maybe the best time is forecasted for Tuesday morning from 4:45 a.m. until 7:15 a.m. and then again from 6:25 p.m. until 8:10 p.m. But what do you do if your work schedule does not allow you to be on the water at these suggested times?
Not everybody is as fortunate as I am. I am retired, and I am no longer punching a timecard. I can easily adjust my schedule, but I have always stated the best time to go fishing is anytime you can! I admit to the fact years ago, I skipped school a few times to walk down to the creek and cast a line in the water. I even missed a day or two from work and towed the boat to the lake to recuperate from a bad cold, but I also always stated, you can’t catch a fish from the house.
The man that was my supervisor at work was also an angler, and he just happened to live on a lake. One of the days I was "sick," I was actually fishing. I discovered his cottage was on one of my favorite lakes.
I was rather surprised when I started casting a fishing lure around piers, and this man started talking to me. Then, then we recognized each other. WHOA!
He said, "Hey, Bud, why ain’t you at work?” I told him, “I’m following doctor's orders." Then, I asked him, "Why ain’t you at work?” He smiled and said, "My doctor said the same thing!”
He told me he was sure we would both feel better if we were fishing in my bass boat together. We fished for several hours and caught many fish, and the next day, we both felt much better. I was also invited to visit him at the cottage several more times.
I am not ridiculing the people who adhere to the recommended times for hunting or fishing at all, but if it doesn't work out for your particular time schedule, many people will decide to just stay home and miss out on some pretty good activity. I have never heard of anybody catching fish but did not go fishing.
It might be entirely possible that the fish activity will be somewhat reduced, but there will always be a few hungry fish that do not wear a wristwatch to tell them they need to start or stop biting. They may not have a calendar that tells them today or tomorrow is when they are supposed to be extra hungry.
Heck, I might have just left the table from eating a full meal. If my wife asks me if I want some strawberries and ice cream, I can usually be persuaded to give in and have a helping. I believe if I were a big bass, I would be mounted on some angler’s wall.
So, just to summarize, if you can adjust your fishing time to work with the moon phases and Solonar table, that is great. But if you can only go a few hours tomorrow, then that is the best time to go fishing.